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Summary of the impact

Elizabeth Graham's model of long-standing engagement and research at
specific Maya sites in
Belize has led to significant partnerships with local communities as well
as tourist and heritage
organisations. At Lamanai, where Graham has worked for over 15 years,
research enabled the
Belize tourism authorities to develop the site, benefiting 212,800
visitors during 2008-2013. This
partnership led to an invitation to work at the Marco Gonzalez site on
Ambergris Caye, where
research has facilitated the development of the site virtually from
scratch and created a new
recognition of Maya heritage on the caye.

Underpinning research

The Lamanai Archaeological Project (LAP) in Belize focuses on crises in
Maya history, and in
particular, little-known periods of transition including the early Maya
florescence, the Maya collapse
and the Spanish and British colonial periods (thus covering the period
from 900 BC to AD 1900).
This research differs from most Maya studies, which are concerned with the
florescence of Maya
civilisation and cover a period that ends in the 9th-10th century AD.

Elizabeth Graham (Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology; employed at UCL
since 1999) has
directed LAP since 1997 and has overseen archaeological excavations at
both Lamanai (once a
considerable Maya city) and the related site of Marco Gonzalez on the
nearby island of Ambergris
Caye. Scott Simmons of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, who
directed the Maya
Archaeometallurgy Project and co-directed the field school, was co-PI at
Lamanai from 2003-12
and has been co-PI at Marco Gonzalez from 2010-present. Excavations at
both sites have
resulted in the collection of evidence that dispels the notion of
widespread collapse, and have
revealed a number of connected communities that resisted collapse and
continued to thrive.

Marco Gonzalez is one of the few coastal sites for which data are
available for the Postclassic to
Colonial transition. Excavations here reveal that during its long,
continuous occupation, the
inhabitants were embedded in trade and exchange networks involving
supplies of stone tools
obtained from the mainland [b, f]. This work strongly suggests that though
the Spanish arrival
changed Maya life in many ways, communities along the coast were still
able to use these
networks to access obsidian, primarily from the Guatemalan highlands [d].
With comparatively
good access to obsidian for blade production, the Marco Gonzalez site
appears to have been an
important way station for moving goods up and down the coast and for
funnelling resources via a
coastal-inland trade network.

Examination of burial sites at Lamanai and Marco Gonzalez enabled Graham
and her colleagues
to propose that dramatic changes in funerary practices at the end of the
Classical Maya period
reflected not just a `religious' change, but a qualitative transformation
in how wealth and power
were appropriated, similar to that which occurred during the Spanish
Conquest [a].

Such evidence has been used to connect the Maya (and Belize's) deep past
to present-day
communities — a key aspect of Graham's work. A specific goal of the
project was to implement and
develop best archaeological practice by integrating research results into
community outreach, by
providing local training and economic opportunities, and by working with
local heritage interests
and cooperatives. Since 2009, the LAP has concentrated its efforts on
cultural heritage issues
including increased access to on-site collections; local conservation and
conservation training; and
collections research.

References to the research

[a] Graham, E., S. E. Simmons and C. D. White. (2013) The Spanish
Conquest and the Maya
collapse: how `religious' is change? World Archaeology 45(1):
1-25. DOI:
10.1080/00438243.2013.770962.
This contains references to more extensive publications on
Marco Gonzalez written by Graham and her team (including David
Pendergast).

Details of the impact

The Lamanai Archaeological Project is an example of long-term fieldwork
embedded in a
community. With decades of ongoing relations, it is difficult to isolate
specific impacts of research.
Instead the impact needs to be viewed holistically. Over the years, the
LAP has been instrumental
in developing both the site and access to its rich finds for visitors,
and in contributing to the
local community of Indian Church Village by facilitating the tourism
industry and providing vital
skills training. In 2001-2005, the Belize Government's Tourism
Development Project worked with
Graham's team to excavate and conserve the Maya buildings on the site
(including the Palace
courtyard group and the two churches) and to develop a visitor centre here
[1]. Lamanai is
amongst the most visited Maya sites in Belize, and these improvements form
the core of its
offering to the over 212,800 people who visited the site in 2008-2013. By
contrast, in the
equivalent time period before the tourism development project began
(1995-2000), the site was
visited by only 93,200 visitors or less than half those recorded during
the impact period [1]. The
ongoing significance for visitors is demonstrated by the reviews the site
continues to receive from
tourists and travel books — on Trip Advisor, for example, the Lamanai
Archaeological Reserve is
rated 4.5/5, with all but 4 of 169 ratings (2011-2013) `very good' or
(predominantly) `excellent' [2].

The research project has been vital in creating economic development
in this historically
deprived area. This is achieved through the increased employment
potential, but also through skills
development. A specific example during the impact period is the direct
impact of Graham's
research on 16th century Spanish churches at Lamanai [b, e] which informed
the Belize Institute of
Archaeology's consolidation and reconstruction of the churches to
reinstate them as important
historical landmarks, and provided specialised training for the Orange
Walk Tour Guide
Association in nearby Orange Walk Town [1] to ensure that they used the
latest findings in their
work. This, and other research, also informs the interpretation at the
site itself. Community
development activities accompanying the research have included training in
jewellery making and
the development of an artisan centre at Indian Church, the village of 300
people where Lamanai is
located [1]. This example of a long-term engagement with a site and the
surrounding community
was an important factor in Graham's subsequent research and community
development initiatives
on Ambergris Caye.

Tourism is the second-largest industry in Belize and with the largest
barrier reef in the western
hemisphere, Ambergris Caye is one of the country's most important diving
destinations. As a result
Mayan heritage has not formed a strong part of the sense of place and
identity of its main
settlement, San Pedro, although most San Pedranos themselves are almost
certainly descendants
of east coast Maya who staunchly resisted the Spanish invasion. In 2008,
however, a plan for a
condominium development (called South Beach) galvanised a younger
generation of San
Pedranos to protect the island's archaeological heritage, centred
in the small site of Marco
Gonzalez. As a result of the example provided by the nearby Lamanai
Archaeological Project, and
knowing that Graham had participated in a reconnaissance of Marco Gonzalez
(with David
Pendergast) in the 1980s, the Director of the Belize Institute of
Archaeology invited her to liaise
with the then-nascent Marco Gonzalez Maya Site Ambergris Caye (MGMSAC)
preservation group
in 2009 [1].

Existing site (left) and proposed development (right) at Marco
Gonzalez

The Director used Graham's prior research (e.g. [d,f]) to argue for the
importance and extent of this
site and indicate that the Belize Institute of Archaeology, which has
oversight of the country's
archaeological resources, would challenge this plan [3]. Simultaneously,
Graham launched a new
archaeological project at the site that demonstrated and cemented its
importance and contributed
to the call for a buffer zone to protect it. For the first time, residents
of Ambergris Caye were
galvanised to protect this Maya site and challenge the proposed
development. This was reflected
in the news coverage in local papers, such as the San Pedro Sun,
and in 2010, led to the site
becoming Belize's first Maya archaeological reserve located on an island,
and to the institution of a
buffer zone [4]. Due to the economic climate, the development was
subsequently suspended.

Thus Graham's research was instrumental in providing the evidence
base to have Marco
Gonzalez declared a protected site, and thus prevent catastrophic damage.
It was also
instrumental in bringing a new awareness of the richness of their Maya
history amongst San
Pedranos, and a realisation of the periods of transition and
external contact through which Maya
culture and heritage survived to the present day. It is important to note
that the site itself contains
no surviving monuments; thus the finds, the activities of the field school
and the underpinning
research, are essential to bring this period alive in the minds of
visitors [5]. Those findings thus
continue to inform educational and tourism activities at the site, and are
an important factor in
MGMSAC's fundraising and awareness activities [5]. For example, the MGMSAC
website
(http://www.marcogonzalezmayasite.com) draws on both findings and research
activities to explain
the importance of the site and evoke its past [6].

When research began at Marco Gonzalez, access was via a 45 minute trek
through a mangrove
swamp. Providing access, therefore, was a major priority for MGMSAC. For
the 2010 field school,
a 433 metre walkway was built for the site. This provided essential access
for the school, but also
a permanent benefit for the island and its heritage community in
developing a blueprint for
environmentally sensitive access. For the first time, therefore, it was
possible to bring tours to the
site [6]. As awareness amongst visitors grew, from 2012, the San Pedro
Town Council began to
proactively repair the road leading to the site, demonstrating its
increasing profile [9]. By 2011
traffic was sufficient that MGMSAC hired and housed a caretaker on site
from visitor fees [5].

The ongoing research enabled MGMSAC to apply successfully for the funding
required to develop
it as a heritage tourism site on a caye previously best known for
water sports. The archaeological
and heritage evidence was used by MGMSAC to launch a vigorous awareness
and fundraising
campaign, including developing a range of souvenirs, and to argue for the
need for a visitor centre.
As a result, in November 2011, MGMSAC had raised US$40,000 for the site
[7] including
donations from the Frederick Upton Foundation to improve interpretation
and signage using reports
written by Graham and Simmons for the National Institute of Culture and
History (the parent body
of the Belize Institute of Archaeology). These were also used to develop a
guide narrative [5].

To develop the site as a central part of the caye's heritage, the
research project provided the
information underpinning cultural and learning resources to facilitate
school and tourism visits. In
2011, a brochure was developed summarising the research findings and
introducing the site. In
2013, funding amounting to 1500 USD was received to develop this further
into a full-fledged
guidebook. According to the reports delivered by the MGMSAC to the
National Institute of Culture
and History (the parent body of the Belize Institute of Archaeology), the
site received 274 visitors
during its first year (February-December 2011), rising to 617 in its
second (2012). In the first
quarter of 2013 alone, the site received 286 visitors, showing its growing
popularity [8].

These visitor numbers are small compared to larger Maya sites, such as
Lamanai. Yet for the
14,000 inhabitants of Ambergris Caye, they indicate an unprecedented
appreciation of the island's
Maya heritage. The MGMSAC and the researchers actively use the findings
from the site to
promote this. This has included, for example, leaflets provided at hotels
and tourist offices. Regular
Archaeology Days and Exhibitions are held in San Pedro, at popular
locations such as Fido's
Courtyard, the largest beach bar on the island (20-23 June 2012), or at
the Belize Yacht Club (8
July 2010) [12]. These introduce town residents and visitors, both
children and adults, to research
findings, and are accompanied by talks from Graham and members of MGMSAC.

The increasing profile of the site — and of the island's heritage — is
demonstrated by the fact that
San Pedranos are now actively investing in it. As described earlier, the
Town Council has taken
responsibility for maintaining access roads [9], and local residents and
businesses donate
financially and in kind [9]. Research findings are keenly covered in the
local press [10]. Also
reflecting this recognition is the fact that school engagement is now a
regular activity. The project
runs the Ambassadors of the Past programme which brings two ethnic Maya
university students to
the caye to deliver talks to school children about the place of Marco
Gonzalez in Belize's Maya
heritage — about 300 children attended talks in 2012, the first year, and
the programme was
repeated in 2013 [11].

Sources to corroborate the impact

[1] Statement and visitor figures to October 2013 provided by the
Director, Belize Institute of
Archaeology. Photo of Graham's training session for Orange Walk guides
available on request.

[8] Copies of monthly and annual reports delivered by MGMSAC to the
National Institute of Culture
and History are available on request. News coverage and photos of school
tours are available on
request.

[9] Letter to the Editor from MGMSAC in Ambergris Today (23 July
2012) acknowledging council
road building, and another in The San Pedro Sun (26 July 2012)
acknowledging businesses and
individuals for their contributions, both available on request.

[10] Press clippings available on request.

[11] Press clipping describing the Ambassadors of the Past programme run
by Dr Scott Simmons
and introducing young residents to Maya heritage. The San Pedro Sun
14 June 2012 available on
request.

[12] Event announcements for Archaeology exhibitions and workshops,
available on request.